Islamabad - In Pakistan, the newly designated interim Prime Minister, Anwaarul Haq Kakar, presided over the oath-taking ceremony of his 19-member Cabinet on Thursday. The primary objective of this Cabinet is to oversee the governance of the financially strained nation until the forthcoming general elections and to ensure a smooth transition of power.
President Arif Alvi administered the oath to the interim Cabinet at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the official presidential residence.
As per an official statement, the Cabinet consists of 16 federal ministers and 3 advisers. Jalil Abbas Jilani, a former foreign secretary, has taken up the role of Foreign Minister, Sarfaraz Bugti as Interior Minister, Shamshad Akhtar as Finance Minister, and Lt Gen (retired) Anwar Ali Haider as Defence Minister. Additionally, seasoned journalist Murtaza Solangi has been appointed as Information Minister.
Other appointments include Khalil George as Minister for Minorities, industrialist Gohar Ijaz as Minister for Industries, academic Dr Umar Saif as Minister for Information Technology, Ahmad Irfan Aslam as Law Minister, renowned actor Jamal Shah as Minister for Culture, and Aniq Ahmad as the Minister for Religious Affairs. Notably, Akhtar is the sole woman in the Cabinet.
The event was attended by Kakar, Punjab's interim Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, and other dignitaries. With the swearing-in of the Cabinet ministers, the process of forming the government has concluded in the country, which is grappling with a significant economic crisis.
As per the Constitution, a caretaker government is appointed to ensure a neutral administration for conducting elections fairly and transparently.
Pakistan's National Assembly was dissolved on August 9, marking the end of the tenure of the government led by Shehbaz Sharif and paving the way for the installation of a caretaker administration.
The general elections in Pakistan are anticipated to take place within 90 days. However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) recently decided to initiate a fresh constituency delimitation, indicating that the general elections may not be held within the stipulated 90-day period. This adjustment was necessitated by the approval of the results of the 2023 digital census by the Council of Common Interests (CCI), which mandates the ECP to undertake a comprehensive delimitation process. This endeavor is projected to last around four months, with the ECP aiming to complete it by mid-December.
Pakistan is currently grappling with a severe economic crisis. To mitigate this situation, the Pakistan government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) finalized a long-awaited staff-level agreement on June 29. This agreement entails injecting a USD 3 billion Standby Arrangement (SBA) into the struggling economy after prolonged negotiations that had brought the nation to the brink of default.